The beginning...

·         I decided to do this blog a little differently than most people. Instead of me blogging the entire time, I have decided to get some close friends and family, and put our thoughts together. Each time I write a blog entry, it will be bits and pieces of amazing people who want to share about their lives . So this week, I have asked a few people that I know “What is the biggest thing you have learned this year?” and here is what we came up with...starting with me...

·             This year, I have learned about true friendship.    

  

                 True friends…
        Are there for you always, even when you know that they would rather be anywhere else. Drive you to the hospital, stay with you for hours, visit you even after they have worked all day, and sleep in really uncomfortable chairs just so you are not alone. Know when you are having a hard time without you having to say  a word. Are excited for your success, but help you through your failures.  Are there when you are broken, helping to put the pieces back together.  Know that you can do the things that you think you can’t, and inspire you to do them.  Help you be able to laugh at yourself. Will let you tell them anything without judgement. Understand your personality, beliefs, and goals, and encourage you without trying to       change who you are.

       There is so much more I could say about true friendship, but it would take forever. My friends that I have become close with this year, and a few of my friends that I have known for years have really exemplified true friendship this year for me. They were there for me through a lot of crappy stuff. This year has been really scary in terms of my health, and my friends have helped me feel safe and loved. I am blessed to have these amazing people in my life, and I hope that everyone can know what it is like to have amazing friends like I do.

o    "I learned this year that doing nothing is almost never the solution. I'm not sure why I so often think that it is."

o    –Brigette Thornes-

     "I've learned that in order to truly love others, you must love yourself first. If you don't take the time to know and love yourself, no one else will either."

     -Brianna Currin-

"I’ve learned this year that it is truly impossible to make EVERYONE happy…Make yourself happy  first and foremost. Those who truly love you will at least be happy for you, even if they themselves are not happy."- Courtney Knopps-

"I learned this year that I can stand up for myself and stand on my own two feet. And that I am stronger than I thought I was."-Kara Regan-

o     " This year I learned that I am stronger than I ever imagined I could be.  Over the past few months my life has turned upside down, and I had to make some tough decisions. Decisions that in my mind I thought I could never make, but I did it. At first you think your life is over, that you will never adjust to the changes, that people just keep telling you "It'll get better" to make you feel ok. But then you just wake up one day, and after all the tears, the heartache, the sleepless nights, the worrying, you somehow realize that you will be ok. That you survived the worst of it, and you came out alive. Not only are you alive, but you're stronger and smarter. And I want to also say that I could have never learned this lesson on my own. I have some pretty amazing friends that helped me through the worst of it, and if it were not for them I would have NEVER been able to do it. I don’t think they realize just how special they are to me and just how much of a difference they have made in my life since they became a part of it. They kept me going every time I wanted to quit fighting.
So for anyone out there going through hell, believe me, it really does make sense one day. You just have to keep going until it does. And never deny the light that is inside of you." -Toria Ouahmane

 I hope you enjoyed this first blog and that it brings something to your life, whether it be inspiration, a new realization, or maybe even something that you hadn't thought of.

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